In March the streets oppose to racism

In commemoration of the UN’s International day against racial discrimination, an international demonstration will take place in London on 17 of March. And also in, Europe and the US

Marcella Via

Seventeen years have passed since the start of the War on Terror. While this conflict means an increase in the international intervention in the Middle East, the discrimination against Muslim people living in the West escalates year by year.

For example, in Europe, Muslims face an unfair treatment when looking for a job or a house or at the time of getting access to public services. These services include education and healthcare.

Right wing governments are rising epidemically at an international level, with the consolidation of the Freedom Party in Austria, the Front National in France and the AfD in Germany. This trend is likely to produce a magnification in the discrimination against Muslim citizens.

In fact, the anti-Muslim hysteria adopted by the press has caused a dramatic intensification in Islamophobic attacks that see Muslim women as the main target.

In a globalised and multicultural society, there is no space for racism or any kind of discrimination. A serious and coordinated effort needs to be organised in response to the racist policies adopted by right-wing governments in Europe and in the United States.

This effort is represented by the “#MarchAgainstRacism” an event is hosted by “Stand Up To Racism” and will take place on the 17th of March.

The March Against Racism will start at 12 pm at Portland Palace, London, W1B1. The date is not casual. Indeed, the 17th of March is the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

This day has been inaugurated in 1966 in commemoration of the Sharpeville massacre of 1960. In this occasion, 69 anti-apartheid protestors have been killed and 178 wounded by the police force for marching against the regime’s racist pass laws.

The victims of violence where part of a crowd of about 5,000 to 7,000 people that went protesting to the police station in the South African township.

The 17th of March will see people marching in the streets to stand up to racism not only in London. Indeed, Cardiff, Glasgow and cities across both Europe and the US will take part to the protest. In the past year, demonstrations took place in the streets of major capitals such as Paris, Berlin, Athens, Amsterdam and Vienna. Every year more and more countries are taking action against racism, including a march in the United States.